A 330ml bottle with a BB of April 2016. 2008 vintage. Acquired some time ago from a Belgian webshop and stored in my garage. I've been looking forward to this one. Love the strange label image...

Poured into a Duvel tulip. A deep reddish-brown hue that appears cherry black in the glass. Virtually no head; just a few flaccid tawny bubbles floating on the surface. I guess the carbonation has gone AWOL. The aroma is rich and intense - a mingling of balsamic vinegar, sherry, wine, cherries, plums, raisins, stone fruits, brown sugar, caramel/molasses and wood. Slightly sweet, with a musty, earthy sourness. There is a whiff of solvent/alcohol in the background (initially hot and reminiscent of acetone), though this mellows out after a while. A fantastically complex olfactory experience!

The taste is fervently sour and fruity, with a lingering dry finish. Notes of balsamic vinegar, sherry, wine, cherries, prunes/plums, dried fruit, brown sugar, caramel/molasses and wood. It possesses an incredible vinous, oxidised quality that puckers the tongue and stimulates the palate. Slightly sweet, with a sharp, piercing tartness. A long fruity finish as the flavours slowly release their hold on your tastebuds. Mouthfeel is smooth and rich, with good body and tingly acidity. However the beer is completely flat and lacking in texture, which spoils the taste and makes it feel thinner than it probably should. Highly astringent - dries the palate. Aftertaste of sweet 'n' sour fruitiness; vinegary and delicious.

Wow - what a beer. The complexity and range of flavours are incredible, even though I find it quite a challenging brew. The sour, vinegar character is nicely balanced by sweetness and fruity notes. The glaring flaw is the lack of carbonation, which detracts from the mouthfeel but also affects the flavour. I'm sure that the experience on the palate would be different with greater CO2 presence. Nonetheless, this is an impressive effort from de Struise and one that I'm happy to have tried. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but well worth sampling if you have the opportunity.

Beautiful dark brown, burgundy color. Lovely clarity but absolutely no head or lacing. A variety of aromas: raisins, tobacco, red wine most prominent. A little caramelized mustiness.Bright burst of dark fruits with a tangy, acidic finish. Finish is bold but dies quickly. Stops just shy of vinegar. Could be more carbonated but the acidity lends the needed tingle. Overall, while lacking the mouthfeel and head retention that would bump this one up a few notches, really very satisfying.

A - A hard pour yields a dark brown liquid with a handful of bubbles in place of a head. This is as expected given the brewing process, but isn't the most handsome beer I've seen.

S - Aroma fills the air as soon as the bottle is opened. Getting the nose into the glass gives red wine vinegar, nail polish remover, chocolate, warm Christmas spices, bubblegum, stewed stone fruit. Interesting and unlike any beer I can recall.

T - The first mouthful is a slap of rounded vinegar flavours that pushes everything else in there to one side. Knowing what to expect the second time, there are plasticky phenols run the length of the drink. There is a transition of solvent flavours into red wine vinegar, into balsamic vinegar along with the tannic grip of red wine. Bubblegum lingers through the middle along with some red berries and stone fruit. The aftertaste is unsurprisingly tart and mouthwatering.

M - Medium body with soft carbonation that fades halfway through the drink. Solid, if unremarkable.

D - Plenty of punch and interest here, although I think I would prefer it with some years on it to smooth the currently aggressive edges.

2008 vintage 330cl bottle at Novare Res in Portland, ME. Reviewed from notes. Been on my list to try this for a long time.

A- Dark brown with red on edges. No head or anything from the start, not even close. Tiny ring and cloud in the middle. No lace but I expected that.

S- A big musty mix of wine and vinegar. The acetic is like spoiled wine vinegar somewhat resembling balsamic or red wine. Some molasses brown sugar feel and grapes.

T- Again a ton of grapes and vinegar. I love the sour acetic feel layered over grape stems, cherry/dark fruit and vinous notes. Apple juice can be felt but man this red wine vinegar feel is splendid. Some brown sugar, spice and lemon.

MF- Low carbonation under a big oily body. The alcohol warming with the acetic is something I haven't experienced but I really enjoy.

A vinegar and wine grape bomb, awesome non-lambic sour IMO. I really don't know anything about the background of this beer but I certainly enjoyed whatever it is.

Got this one at the schoolhouse a while back. Not sure about the style, but know I love the brewery. Let's give 'er a go.

From a bottle into my Struise glass. Vintage: 2008

APPEARANCE: Pours a bubbly little head. Basically flat. Tan colored bubbles and a light wisp eventually forms. Sienna brown body with no carbonation evident. A slight ring remains but leaves no lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Lots of raspberries, some cherries, with a light touch of vinegar and acidic stuff in the background. Some definite grape juice in there as well. Quite fruity with a vinegary base.

TASTE: Follows the nose. Some red fruits, like raspberries and cherries up front, with a definite acidic vinegar flavor at the swallow. Grape juice comes out as well, and some notes of sweet candy sugar. Medium aftertaste is sour, acidic, with some nice red fruits and grape juice through it all. I'm honestly not sure if I love or hate this.

PALATE: Fuller body, but almost completely flat. A touch of carbonation keeps it from feeling like juice, but it's not far off. Goes down fine and finishes rather sticky. Disappointing here.

OVERALL: Like I said above, I'm not sure if I love this or hate it. It's probably somewhere in between. It's flavorful, interesting, and complex enough to make it enjoayable, but I'm not sure if this is really my style. In any case, the carbonation needs to be figured out, as this is a little too flat even for this style. Either way, this is a quality beer by a quality brewer, so if you're a fan of the style, this will probably be your thing.

Poured into a tulip. Best before date of 27/04/2016. Big thanks to SteveFinny for this.

3.0 A: Pours a completely still brownish black color.

2.0 S: Reeks of balsalmic vinegar and tart cherries. Deeply acetic and powerful. Moderate acetone and mild soy sauce. Molasses and a good bit of vinousness. The more you smell it, the more it grows on you. I'm not sure if I love it or hate it, but I could do without the acetone.

2.5 T: The taste is just as forceful as the nose. This starts out with a marriage between the balsalmic vinegar and the acetone. Cherries follow next. Tobacco and soy sauce after that. Molasses, vinous grape, and a bit of oak.

2.0 M: Medium body. Almost no carbonation. Almost slick. Can't say this is very smooth.

2.5 D: This is wholely unrefined. I'm okay with the sourness and the balsalmic flavors. Hell, sometimes I'll pour a quarter ounce of balsalmic vinegar into a snifter just to sip on. But, the acetone is really offputting. I guess a few too many bug species got in there. This would be a lot better if a few things were different, but such it is as it is. Super complex and powerful, but just not that good.

Dark brown and dark ruby in color with very little, practically zero, visible carbonation. This leaves the glass clean on the way down.

Nice aroma, with good amounts of sour cherries and sweet malt, along with earthy toffee, and oak.

The flavor is nice enough, though is significantly hurt by the lack of carbonation. There's decent amount of tart cherry, sour, vinegar, and wood flavor, but the carbonation makes this one tougher to drink than it should be.

Medium bodied with no carbonation.

The lack of carbonation holds this back from being significantly better.

thanks to chuckycheese for hooking up this 2008 vintage for me. poured into a cantillon taster glass.

a - brew poured a pretty lifeliess deep purple. very thin ring of head around the surface, but no lacing, no head, not really attractive.

s - wonderfully balanced cherry tart and oak. some wood.

t - ZING! a roller coaster of cherry tartness and sourness and wild berries. vinegar. weird finish that is very nail polish remover. kind of weaselish. sour cheese? very vinous...like a red wine.

m - low carbonation, but still feels like a beer. pretty full bodied and rich. thick. juicey juice like, but super sour. finish is weird. almost like nail polish remover or burnt rubber.

o - overall, this is a super in your face flanders. kind of weird, but definitely different. puckeringly sour and drinkable in a weird way (in the way you have to look at a car accident when passing...something weird about it that keeps bringing you back...not that the beer is an accident, just interesting). i wonder what time has done to this fresh. i find 2008 to be a sweet spot on barrel aged brews and big stouts right now, but flanders?